Archives for October 2014

Looking for your first job out of teaching can be frustrating and confusing. What do you do with your experience? Who will hire you? Wonder no more. Here’s the next spotlight of great jobs for former teachers:

Project management is generic term that many companies in many industries use to refer to people who manage projects. Since the term is so general, it’s easy to customize for your particular skill set once you identify the best industry for your talents.

Furthermore, the actual job of a project manager is the most similar to that of a teacher that I’ve found. Teachers are naturally excellent project managers because we’re so well trained in creating and implementing schedules, graphic organizers, and communicating frequently with key stake holders (AKA administration, parents, students, other teachers…).

Is your interest piqued? Here’s a rundown of the important skill sets for a project management position.

Important Skills

Project managers need to be People-people. Your job focuses on interacting with everyone involved in a given project. Depending on the industry and company, that could range from writers and graphic designers to engineers and technical writers. What matters is that you gain the respect of these teams and use their talents to finish a project for a client or internal department.

This might look like coordinating the creation of a large book or guide for a client. Or you might launch a new website, design a program, or build a building. What the project is depends on what industry you’re working in.

You’ll also need excellent customer service skills in case this is an external-facing position in which you interact with the company’s client.

Qualifications/Education

Project managers come from many different backgrounds, which is why it is such a great fit for a former teacher.

However, if you are an eager learner and interview well, it should be no problem to talk your way into an entry-level project management position provided you show professionalism and a clear history of organizing and managing projects… which is exactly what you’ve done for all your time as a teacher!

Use online resources (such as the PMP prep tests and resources) to make sure you can talk about this field competently, and then let your natural charisma and energy lead the way in the interview.

Salary Ranges

While formal education and certifications are always helpful when negotiating a salary, Project Management salaries depend mostly on experience. If you have very little experience but a lot of passion, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to talk your way into an entry-level project management position. The company gets a cheap hire, and you get to build experience. Expect to start out around $48,000, depending on the industry. (Government contracting projects may pay more than website management projects, and so on). Once you have some practical experience, you can look for positions that pay $90,000-$95,000 and break into six figures!

Example Job Descriptions

Here are a few random project management positions around the web so you can get a feel for what the job would be like.

Type in your contact information below & I'll send you a FREE report featuring interviews from 5 real-life teachers who've successfully transitioned out of the classroom. (The best part? That could easily be you!)